I Still Know What You Did Last Summer Blu-rayReview

Share.

I still know this movie is bad. But how is the Blu-ray?

By R.L. Shaffer

After Scream became an international horror sensation, it was only natural to see a jumble of knock-offs and imitations. And to be honest, the first round of clones weren't entirely terrible. But as time progressed, and sequels to those original clones were made, the glossy shine of these genre pictures wore intensely tiresome. So did the characters and situations.

Probably one of the first truly bad sequels was the terribly rushed sequel, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, a half-cocked slasher picture with a clever setting, but not much else. It's the sequel to the first, I Know What You Did Last Summer, which had the fortune of being written by then in-writer Kevin Williamson (Scream). Sadly, the sequel lacks his finesse, not to mention his bankable writing credit, and what audiences are left with is quite mundane.

It's been one year since Julie James (the adorable Jennifer Love Hewitt) was attacked by vengeful fisherman Ben Willis. Like other so many teen horror darlings before her, she's haunted by the event, unable to shake the feeling that she's being watched. But her fears fade after her friend Karla (Brandy Norwood) wins an all-expenses-paid vacation to a resort in the Bahamas. While reluctant to go – Julie is still attempting to have a relationship with her fisherman boyfriend, Ray Bronson (Freddie Prinze Jr., who's barely in the picture) – she decides it might be fun and tags along.

Of course, because Karla is a bang-up friend, she's tries to get Julie to break up with Ray by inviting another suitor, Will Benson (Matthew Settle), on the trip. Of course, it's not long after they arrive that they discover it's hurricane season and the hotel staff scales down to a skeleton crew. And it's not long after this that Ben Willis, or perhaps a copycat, starts offing the staff and Julie's friends. Meanwhile, Ray attempts to make his way to Bahamas, convinced Julie is in trouble. Horror ensues.

Make no mistakes about it, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer is a stupid little movie. Jennifer Love Hewitt leads the show providing decent eye candy for young adults (she's in tube tops or bikinis for most of the film). She gives a fairly decent performance in spots. But other times, she's utterly embarrassing, particularly when she pouts or shows subtle fear. Her supporting cast is fine, but none of the characters are really all that likeable. Karla and her boyfriend seem jerkish for putting Julie in an awkward situation with Will. And Will tries his best to convince Julie that Ray is no good for her. It's a mess, and not in an interesting way. Jack Black also chimes in with an uncredited cameo. He enjoys what little screentime he has, but does his best to annoy any and everyone around him.

At least the setting of the film is original. Instead of having a bunch of friends traipsing off to some cabin in the woods or having some sort of sleepover in their parents' home, the locale is changed to the Bahamas, which provides the lush, colorful splash the first film sorely lacked. Unfortunately, it rains heavily for most of the picture, which truly hurts the potential allure of the setting.

Making matters worse, the script isn't firing on all cylinders. Almost every single scene is packed with dumbfounding logic errors, bad characters and lazy plotting. My favorite jaw-dropping moment of idiocy is the scene where Julie is locked in the tanning bed with just a zip tie. Now a zip tie isn't exactly a chained lock, but you'd never know it watching our heroes scramble to figure out how to break her free. No one can find a sharp object, like glass, to cut through the tie. What about a power cord to the bed?

Then there's the film's twist. Most audiences should be able to pick up on who the killer is long before it's revealed (you might even be able to figure it out just by reading this review), but the picture tries to keep you guessing in really silly ways, even implying in one instance that Jack Black might be the killer (right). It's just dumb.

But I Still Know What You Did Last Summer does pack a few decent thrills and chills, enough to make it a worthwhile waste of a Saturday afternoon. And Jennifer Love Hewitt fans are sure to revel in the cut college girl outfits her character dons. It's not a very gory picture, just a few notches above a PG-13 slasher, but it does boast a few moments of ingenuity. If only this weren't such a rushed project anchored by an actress who hadn't (and still hasn't) come into her own, and a script that weighs the horror down like a dead weight. If only it were smarter, more fun and scarier – like Scream was. Alas, I Still Know is worth forgetting.

Score: 4 out of 10

Video and Presentation

I Still Know What You Did Last Summer is presented in 2.40:1 widescreen using the AVC MPEG-4 codec on a dual-layered BD50 disc consuming 29.4 gigs of disc space. Like a lot of Sony catalog titles of late, this release is a bit spotty. At times, the encode is sharp and incredibly vibrant, but the rest of the time, it's murky and soft, filled with hazy images and minor dust elements, particularly once the rain starts. It doesn't appear as though the film has been remastered since the last DVD release, and unfortunately because of this, the high-def transfer is sort of disappointing. At least the encode seems free of intrusive digital compression issues, but I did detect a slight hint of color banding and posterization. Not Sony's best.

Score: 6 out of 10

Languages and Audio

Audio choices are English, French and Portuguese 5.1 with English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Chinese, Korean and Thai subtitles and English captions for the hearing impaired. Sadly, this hi-res 5.1 mix isn't much better than the transfer. Surrounds are stable, but not all that engaging. Bass is effective at times, but underused throughout. Dialogue is a little on the soft side, too. The film's score is a bit overbearing, flushing the picture with over-the-top cues. The mix isn't a total wash – it's very comparable to other late '90s horror pictures. But looking back, there's plenty of room for improvement.

Score: 6 out of 10

Extras and Packaging

This single-disc BD release comes packed in a blue elite case featuring the film's slightly reworked theatrical artwork. Don't expect much because there's almost nothing here. This thin collection of extras has been ported from the last DVD release. All fans get is an embarrassing music video from Jennifer Love Hewitt, a short EPK featurette (both presented in SD), a trailer for this film and other Sony titles. Oddly, the Sony trailers are for launch titles. Was Sony planning this release for earlier? The disc is also BD-Live web-enabled.

Score: 2 out of 10

The Bottom Line

I Still Know What You Did Last Summer is hardly ground-breaking horror. But, for a nostalgic trip back to the Scream-era of horror pictures, you could do a lot worse. This Blu-ray isn't much of a leap over the DVD, basically porting over the same disappointing A/V presentation and a weak collection of extras. Fans might want to wait for a double-dip, which is bound to happen once this series is inevitably remade in a few years.